A Salute To Christian Zionist Volunteers In Israel | HaYovel

Why is it so important to value Christian individuals who support the State of Israel?

Tommy Waller explains why. Mk Sharren Haskal explains why.

The film, I am Israel, inspired so many people to come and volunteer.

100 years ago, when Lord Balfour signed his famous declaration that ultimately led to an unprecedented resettlement in the Land of Israel.

Today, millions of Jews have settled in the Holy Land. The hundreds and thousands of volunteers who have come from abroad in order to help the resettlement flourish.

The HaYovel organization has been at the forefront of the volunteer movement.

The prophecies from the Bible are indeed coming true today right in front of our eyes.

Christian Zionists support for Israel Pastor Hagee: Christian Zionism Grows Regardless of Soaring Antisemitism

While anti-Semitism in Europe and anti-Zionism on U.S. college campuses are on the upswing, how is American Christian support for Israel trending? Stronger than ever, says the founder of the country’s largest pro-Israel organization.

“I can assure you that the evangelical Christians of America support Israel right now in a more aggressive mood than at any time in my lifetime,” Pastor John Hagee, national chairman of the 1.8-million member Christians United for Israel (CUFI), said in an interview with JNS.org.

Hagee’s assessment of the pulse of Christian Zionism came one day after 5,000 people attended the 33rd annual “A Night to Honor Israel” at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. CUFI’s goal is to facilitate that same program in every major U.S. city.

“We want to send the message to the world and to the Jewish people that Christians are standing up for the state of Israel and the Jewish people at home and abroad,” Hagee said. “It’s not conversation. It’s action.”

At Sunday’s event in San Antonio, that action was the distribution of more than $2.8 million in donations to Israeli and Jewish charities by John Hagee Ministries. The causes included: Afikim Family Enrichment Association, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Avukat Or, Bikur V’Ezras Cholim, Forum for Christian Enlistment, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, Heart of Benjamin, International Council of Young Israel, Israel Help and Education Center at Kiryat Gat, Jewish Agency for Israel, Just One Life, Kefar Tsevi Sitrin, Koby Mandell Foundation, Magen David Adom, Meir Panim, Nahal Haredi, Nefesh B’Nefesh, Netanya Academic College, Ohr Torah Stone, Or L’Doron, Save a Child’s Heart, Shurat Hadin, Western Galilee Hospital, Women’s International Zionist Organization, World ORT, and Yad Vashem.

The Western Galilee Hospital is a Jewish hospital run by an Arab Christian that treats Syrian refugees—covering “all the bases in one shot,” said Hagee, who sought to address public misconceptions that Hagee Ministries focuses on political rather than humanitarian philanthropy.

“There are people who themselves have political agendas that they’re trying to drive, and they’re trying to do and say anything they can to ridicule what we do so that they can prove their bias is the correct position,” he said. “But no one can look at the millions of dollars that we have given to Israel and call it anything but humanitarian. … You look at that list of donors [from Sunday’s event] and it’s hard to say, ‘That’s not humanitarian.’”

But while Hagee Ministries focuses on faith and philanthropy, CUFI’s mission is different: education and advocacy. Participants of the organization’s annual Washington Summit visit their local U.S. Senate and House of Representatives members to urge the support of Israel. Hagee cited those lobbying efforts as an example of Christian pro-Israel advocacy that adds value to what the Jewish community is already bringing to the table, since members of Congress are “not accustomed to gentiles coming in their office, 75 or 80 of them from their district.”

“Whenever those kinds of numbers come from your district and say, ‘We are here to express our support for Israel and we are watching what Congress does with regarding to this specific thing, because this is great concern to us’—when the numbers are enough it becomes of great concern to every person running for election,” Hagee said.

When it comes to current pro-Israel causes, addressing the Iranian nuclear threat is at the forefront of the evangelical Christian community’s thinking.

“We’re all sitting on pins and needles, before November 24th, waiting for the decision [in negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 powers] to come down on Iran’s nuclear bomb efforts, and we all have this deep concern that it’s going to be a negative decision as far as Israel is concerned,” said Hagee. “[We fear that] America will once again be very conciliatory to Iran, and let them go forward with their maniacal nuclear plans.”

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer echoed Hagee’s sentiment on Iran during his remarks at Sunday night’s event in San Antonio.

“Folks, I don’t know if there will be a deal with Iran next month, but Israel is very concerned,” Dermer said. “We’re concerned because a year ago, some hoped that the tough sanctions regime on Iran would only be dismantled if Iran’s nuclear weapons program was dismantled. Today, the international community is prepared to make a deal that would suspend and ultimately lift the sanctions. But no one is talking about dismantling Iran’s nuclear weapons program anymore.”

Addressing the rise of the Islamic State terror group—a threat he said “would pale in comparison” to Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon—Dermer noted the ongoing persecution of ancient Christian communities and other minority groups in the Middle East.

“Kurds and Yazidis are hunted down and sold into slavery in the 21st century,” he said. “Militant Sunni and militant Shi’a [Muslims] massacre each other and even their own if their subjects don’t heed their unforgiving creed.”

Hagee told JNS.org that Christian Zionists see the Islamic State threat within the context of the historical persecution of Jews.

“ISIS (Islamic State) murdering Christians and decapitating children is one of the most extreme forms of terror that we have seen in our lifetime, but as far as Christians supporting Israel is concerned, we see it just as a continuum of the terrorist organizations that have been formed over the years that have a covenant to kill every Jewish person on the face of the earth,” he said, citing Hamas and Hezbollah as well as their state funder, Iran.

Popular radio talk show host and author Dennis Prager made a similar point on Sunday, telling the crowd at Cornerstone Church that no matter who is being persecuted, understanding the battle against evil is about “understanding the Jews’ role.”

“How people regard Israel is a litmus test of their whole values system,” Prager said. “Do they resent that which works, that which is healthy, that which is productive?… Evil focuses on the Jews. Period. Jew-haters are the world’s evil group. There are no wonderful people who happen to hate Jews. Those who hate Jews are announcing, is if they wore a button, ‘Hello, I’m evil.’ That is the way it is. … The Jews carry the burden of God in history. Even Jewish atheists, even Jews who hate being Jews, even Jews who hate Israel—the anti-Semite doesn’t distinguish. Zionists went into gas chambers, anti-Zionists went into gas chambers, Orthodox Jews went into gas chambers, and atheist Jews went into gas chambers. They don’t care—it’s a Jew. The Jew is the embodiment and representation of God on this earth, whether they like it or not.”

Prager described a “civil war” within Christendom between left-wing groups like Presbyterian Church USA, which last July approved a boycott of Israel at its biennial general assembly, and right-wing elements whose replacement theology argues that Jews are no longer God’s chosen people. But CUFI is “the Christian center,” Prager told the crowd.

“There’s nothing wrong with being right-wing, but you’re not,” he said. “In Christendom, you are truly the center. Because there is a right wing that you are fighting just as much [as the left]. … this is Christians united not just for Israel, but for the integrity—‘I’ is for integrity—of Christianity. You are fighting a fight within and without, and God bless you for doing so, because we need you to win. If you lose, it’s over, for the U.S. and for much of the world.”

Hagee: Israel is not an 'occupier' but the owner of the land

Evangelical leader Pastor John Hagee promises that millions of Christian believers are praying for Israel and the Jewish people • He explains that Christianity cannot exist without Judaism, therefore Christian anti-Semitism is a result of ignorance.

Dror Eydar

"Jews have one of the most prosperous countries on the face of this earth," says Pastor John Hagee  |  Photo credit: Jonathan Shaul

One picture captured my heart this past Sunday. The sight of Pastor John Hagee, the leader of tens of millions of evangelicals in the United States and around the world, and Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, a great scholar and veteran rabbi of the Orthodox community in San Antonio, embracing during a joint prayer at the Western Wall.

This picture joins the mounting evidence of a theological earthquake occurring in parts of the Christian world pertaining to relations with the Jewish people and the State of Israel. While some of us have difficulty opening up to these changes, considering the bloody historical account of the Jewish people with the church, it is important to know of this revolution and the righteous among the nations who come to our assistance.

In 2006, Hagee established Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a growing organization that currently numbers 1.8 million members. The group's activists regularly approach their representatives in the U.S. government in Washington on behalf of Israel. The organization has branches on many campuses in the fight for the hearts of the next generation, and starting this year will launch a program bringing Christian student missions to Israel to become directly acquainted with it.

CUFI convenes a huge annual conference in Washington and throughout the year holds dinners honoring Israel in every major city. Hagee emphasizes that they condition admission to the organization and its meetings with the stipulation that "they are not to be conversionary in any way, but are to communicate to our Jewish brothers and sisters our love for them and our desire to help them in any way that we can."

Q: What brings you to Israel at this time?

"We have arrived in Israel with a delegation of more than 500 people because we consider Israel's struggle also our struggle. We believe Israel has the right to exist, and the right to secure borders. It has the right to defend itself against its enemies, and its friends need to stand up and speak up for it at a time of adversity. Many people have canceled their trips to Israel due to the situation. In contrast, we chose this time to come because we want the people of Israel know that we are more than talk. We are action."

Q: Israel has to deal with pro-Palestinian propaganda and lies. How do you see this?

"Well, I can say that Israel is winning the media war in the United States hands down. Our organization (CUFI) put full-page ads in 14 of the top-circulation newspapers in the United States. These stated that Israel's fight is our fight. We pointed out what Hamas was trying to accomplish. We demonstrated the fact that Hamas terrorists were aiming for casualties among their own civilians to win the media war by presenting Israel in a negative light. The American people were flooded with the truth and we were glad to be a part of this effort."

Q: Let's talk about religion and faith. The average Israeli is not familiar with the differences between the Christian denominations. Tell us about the American evangelicals.

"There are about 60 million evangelicals in America. The thing that separates the evangelicals from other belief systems in the United States is that we believe in the Bible. It is the moral compass for the soul. The Bible does not offer God's recommendations; these are God's laws and we keep them, beginning with 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth' (Genesis 1:1). King David said: 'The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof' (Psalms 24:1).

"If God owns the earth, and made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give their descendants the right to the land of Israel -- then Israel is not an 'occupier' as implied by the liberal media in the United States, but the owner of the land by covenant. And the covenant still stands.

"Israel must never be separated from its biblical roots. When King David says, 'Speak and pray for the peace of Jerusalem' (Psalms 122:6) -- we speak and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. When the Prophet Isaiah (62:1) says, 'For Zion's sake I will not keep silent' -- we do not keep silent.

"Our organization has 1.8 million members, making us the largest pro-Israel organization in the world. When we send out an 'action alert,' our members promptly send out tens of thousands of emails in support and defense of Israel. We do this due to the biblical commandment. We believe that not to speak is to speak; Seeing evil and not resisting it is evil. Therefore when we see evil -- and anti-Semitism is evil, a sin that damns the soul -- we react.

"In the teachings of Paul in the book of Romans (15:27), which state that the Christians should recognize that they have a debt of gratitude to the Jewish people for their contribution to Christianity, Christians should know that without the Jewish contribution there would be no Christianity.

"Judaism does not need Christianity to explain its existence, while Christianity cannot explain its existence without Judaism. So what did the Jewish people give to Christianity? The Bible, the Torah, which is the most priceless treasure we have. They have given us the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They have given unto us the knowledge that 'the Lord is our God; the Lord is one,' (Deuteronomy 6:4) invalidating pantheism and all polytheistic religions.

"Judaism has given Christianity the first family of Christianity: Mary, Joseph and Jesus, as well as the Twelve Disciples. Jesus says in the book of John (4:22): 'Salvation is of the Jews.' Meaning that if you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, Christianity would not exist.

"Now, people who believe the Bible believe in this too, and therefore their support for Israel is not a political issue, but rather a matter of obedience to the word of God."

Q: So how come the majority of the Christian world does not support us?

"If you really want to read a masterful exposition on the subject, read the book by Father Flannery, 'The Anguish of the Jews.' He goes into the historical essence of the evolution of the Roman Catholic Church in becoming anti-Semitic.

"For 800 years, the church had an anti-Semitic message that produced the Crusades, and brought to the murder of thousands of Jews for refusing to convert to Catholicism, as well as those killed by the Spanish Inquisition.

"And then Adolf Hitler, who attended a Roman Catholic church and listened to the teachings of John Chrysostom (bishop of Antioch from the end of the fourth century), 'the Golden Mouth,' who said: God hates the Jews and I hate the Jews and I want to kill them because of Christ. ['For killing God there is no expiation possible, no indulgence or pardon. …

When animals are unfit for work, they are marked for slaughter, and this is the very thing which the Jews have experienced. By making themselves unfit for work, they have become ready for slaughter.' (D. E.)]

"When such a message enters the brain of the child who later became the monster who led the Third Reich which systematically murdered 6 million Jews -- this is what I call 'the harvest of hatred' of 1,800 years of a theological concept according to which God had no use for the Jews. Yet, I acknowledge that there have been, in the past and present, Catholics who have been very good friends of Israel, like Pope John Paul II."

Q: What response did you get from Christians of other denominations about your vision and religious viewpoint?

"You have to go back to basics, with the fact that in Genesis (Chapter 1), God created the world and made a very solemn promise (brought in Genesis 12:3), 'I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.' From that moment on, every nation that ever blessed Israel has been blessed by God. And every nation that has ever persecuted the Jewish people, God crushed. And so He will continue.

"So take that principle and apply it to the people who call themselves Christians. There are Christians who claim to be anti-Semitic. That is an oxymoron. Christianity is driven by a love. Anti-Semitism is driven by hate. You cannot be a Christian anti-Semite; You are either a Christian or an anti-Semite. Bottom line, if you are not for Israel and the Jewish people, you either are biblically ignorant or you're not a Christian."

Q: Part of the Christian world reads the word 'Israel' in the Old Testament as referring to the church.

"I know, but saying it doesn't make it true. You are talking about replacement theology [which maintains that God abandoned the Jews and replaced them with the church following their rejection of Jesus. Since, the Jews have only been 'Israel according to the flesh,' namely, the biological descendants of the biblical people of Israel, while the church is 'Israel according to the spirit,' the heir of all the prophetic promises given to the people of Israel in the Bible (D. E.)] This is a false doctrine!"

Q: Was it not also Paul's view?

"Absolutely not. In Romans (Chapter 11), Paul opens by saying: Has God cast away his people? -- speaking about the Jewish people. And he responds: God forbid! And then he used the logic -- 'I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin; God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew.'

"Therefore, Paul concludes, if God is using him then he is still using the Jewish people and they were not cast off. He repeats this idea further down in this chapter, just for those who have a hard time getting it the first time round.

"And then you learn the concept that anything that is replaced in the Bible never reappears, Sodom and Gomorrah, for instance. The people of Israel, in contrast, were dispersed from their land in the year 70 A.D. But they were reborn and the State of Israel was re-established in 1948. Why would they be reborn if God wanted to replace them? Furthermore, not only were they reborn, but they flourished. This nation has one of the most prosperous countries on the face of this earth. It is militarily strong. It has transformed the desert into a blossoming place. This is a testimonial to the fact that God is with Israel. Therefore replacement theology is a false doctrine. It is religious anti-Semitism, and can only be believed by people who do not read the entirety of the biblical texts concerning Israel."

Q: We are now facing a revival of ancient Islam that is sweeping major parts of the Middle East. How do you respond to this?

"I think it was Edmond Burke who said, 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.' I think America has backed down from its role as a global leader. We have a weak national leadership, and on account of that weakness, the tyrants of the world are marshalling all the people; the radicals are bent on realizing their evil intent, and evil is prospering. This is the heyday for evil.

"ISIS [Islamic State], which was dismissed by our president as the 'Lakers Junior Varsity,' now has, according to our latest Intelligence, over 31,000 soldiers, fully equipped and ready for action. In less than ten months they went from nothing to a major military force. And why? Because those who should represent truth and light are backing down and evil is having a field day. I see no difference in principle between ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, apart from the degree of violence they resort to. They all want the Jews dead."

Q: We know that the people who are suffering directly from ISIS are Shiites and Christians. Christians have become the Jews of the days of old.

"Yes, ISIS is a very radical form of Islam that kills anybody that doesn't share its beliefs, whether Christian, Jewish, or anything but what they are. Yet, any faith that has as its fundamental reason for existence the killing of innocent children solely for not sharing their belief certainly cannot be following the God of Heaven."

Q: Some say that the evangelical support for Israel is to hasten the prophetic scenario of the End of Days; that your support is not for good reasons but stems from the desire to have Israel engaged in a new world war that will hasten the second coming of Jesus. 

"The answer to that is that it is absolutely impossible for any human being or group of people to do anything to change the mind of God about the things he is going to do in the future.

"The Bible is very clear on this that from the foundation of the world, God has established what he is going to do and when. I will be judged by how I am going to obey the Bible to help the Jewish people.

"If some people are too biblically-illiterate to understand this, it is not my problem. If some are too prejudiced to accept it -- so be it. My response is to do what I know: to help Israel and the Jewish people. This will not change one thing God Almighty is going to do, not now, not ever."

Q: Finally, on the eve of the Jewish New Year, what would you like to wish the people of Israel?

"Our prayer and our blessing for the State of Israel is that they have a lasting peace, when they can enjoy the fruit and benefits of living in this democratic country; and that their children and their children's children will no longer be under constant threat of war from radical groups, but will prosper and be blessed."

26 Israeli Charities that Received $2.7 Million from Hagee Ministries

Pastor John Hagee‘s 32nd annual “Night to Honor Israel” was held on October 27, 2013 in the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas.  The 5,000 person sanctuary was filled to capacity with not only Evangelical Christians, but Jews from Israel representing 26 charities that received over $2.7 million in donations. 
Over the years, Hagee Ministries has blessed Israel with over $80 million in humanitarian aid which has greatly benefited the people of Israel.  The complete footage of the 2013 “Night to Honor Israel” is available  here.

 

http://loveforhispeople.blogspot.com/2013/11/26-israeli-charities-that-received-27.html

26. Friends of the Israel Defense Forces 

$50,000 for the care of fallen soldier’s families presented to Scott Kammerman

25. Hadadi Center for Breast Cancer Survivors

$50,000  for the emotional and social support given to breast cancer survivors presented to Aliza Herbst

24. Heart of Benjamin – CFOIC

$50,000 for children with Down Syndrome presented to Sandra Baras

23. Israel Help and Educational Center at Kiryat Gat

$50,000 for services for families at risk presented to Rivka Lennon Zamanov

22. Koby Mandell Foundation

$50,000 for services for victims of terror and trauma presented to Rabbi Seth Mandell

21. Meir Panim

$50,000 for the fight against hunger and poverty in Israel presented to David Birnbaum

20. Migdal Ohr

$50,000 for the orphanage in Israel presented to Steven Finkelman

19. Nahal Haredi

$50,000 for the acculturation of Haredi soldiers into the IDF presented to Rabbi Tzvi Klebanow

18. Or L’doron

$50,000 for the educaiton of Ethiopian immigrants presented to Rabbi Michael Cytrin

17. The Herzl Institute in Jerusalem

$50,000 for the young leadership seminars presented to Dr. Yoram Hazony

16. WIZO – Women’s International Zionist Organization

$50,000 for the support of operations for education and welfare projects and services presented to Mercedes Ivcher

15. Afikim Family Enrichment Association

$75,000 for enrichment centers for at-risk families presented to Moshe Lefkowitz

14. Eretz Nehederet

$75,000 for Jewish awareness programs for the IDF by Linda Olmert

13. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee

$100,000 for the support of Holocaust survivors presented to Michael Novak

12. Avukot Or

$100,000 for the support of blind young adults with severe physical disabilities presented to Abe Tessler

11. Bikur V’ezras Cholim

$100,000 for the home for developmentally challenged adults presented to Chesky Fuchs

10. The International Council of Young Israel

$100,000 for Jewish enrichment for hearing impaired children presented to Harris Burg

9. Just One Life

$100,000 for the support and counseling of pregnant women presented to Rabbi Etan Tokayer

8. World Ort

$100,000 for vocational training for Ethiopian immigrants presented to Howard Feinberg

7. Yad Vashem

$100,000 for support for the “Righteous Among Nations” program presented to Shaya Ben-Yehuda

6. Save a Child’s Heart

$125,000 for pediatric intensive care services presented to David Litwack

5. Netanya Academic Collage

$150,000 for the integration of new immigrants through higher education and assistance into the workforce presented to Dr. David Altman

4. Ohr Torah Stone’s Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation

$150,000 for the creation of a more positive relations between Jews and Christians presented to David Nekrutman

3. Shurat Hadin Israel Law Center

$150,000 for the Israeli-based civil rights organization which combats terrorist organizations through lawsuits presented to Nitzana-Darshan Leitner

2. The Jewish Agency for Israel

$250,000 for absorption and youth centers for new immigrants presented to Shai Lamdan

1. Nefesh B’Nefesh

$500,000 for the revitalization of Aliyah by helping American-Jewish professionals achieve their dreams of living in Israel presented to Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart

Christian Preacher Pat Robertson: God Will Punish US For Dividing Jerusalem

Virginia Beach, VA - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson has told his TV audience that God will punish the United States if the U.S. forces Israel to share control of Jerusalem with the Palestinians.

His warning Monday on CBN’s “The 700 Club” came as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators prepared to meet in Washington for their first direct talks in years.

The U.S. has never recognized Israel’s designation of Jerusalem as its capital, insisting the city’s status should be negotiated. The U.S. also has not recognized Israel’s annexation of eastern Jerusalem, which contains sites holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians.

But Robertson declared — on what he called “the authority of the Scripture” — that if the U.S. “forces Israel to divide Jerusalem, God Himself will come down against this nation, and what will happen will be very painful to every one of us as American citizens.”

Christian and Jewish Zionists believe the return of Jews to establish modern Israel was a fulfillment of biblical prophecies.

Christians rally in support of Israel, Jewish people

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, delivers the keynote speech during "A Night to Honor Israel," Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. Photo: Darren Abate, Darren Abate/For The Express-New / SA

Pastor John Hagee took the stage of his megachurch Sunday night with his 5,000-seat worship center nearly packed for what has become his signature event, a rally with speeches and music to express Christian support for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people.

With rabbis, Christian ministers and Israeli leaders in ample supply, the atmosphere highlighted the fervor of Christian Zionists whose cause has re-intensified through Hagee's initiatives in recent years.

He founded Christians United for Israel six years ago, declaring the issue of Israel as singularly critical to the future agenda of evangelical Christians. Today, he counts more than 1 million members in the nonprofit organization, which lobbies federal lawmakers and has gradually secured support from much of the U.S. Jewish community.

Sunday's “Night to Honor Israel” marked the 31st year for the noted TV evangelist to hold this event at Cornerstone Church on the North Side. And as in past years, the event brought out a mix of theological and political one-liners: The Bible mandates the defense of Israel as a Jewish homeland and the U.S.-Israeli bond gives the world its greatest chance at stability and peace in the Middle East.

“The day America turns its back on Israel, that day God will turn his back on the United States of America,” Hagee told the audience.

Some waved U.S. and Israeli flags, cheering and clapping at the frequent calls for rejecting candidates for U.S. office who haven't held Israel's enemies — especially Iran — accountable for seeking the nation's destruction.

“This year, O Lord, help America choose the candidate who seems most likely to stop Iran,” said San Antonio Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, in the invocation.

The national anthems for both countries were sung along with a variety of Israeli-inspired songs paying tribute to the land as historically belonging to the Jewish people and Jerusalem as a God-ordained capital city.

Toward the end of the night, it was announced that nearly $3 million was given to Jewish and Israeli charities, adding to Hagee's long record of raising funds for such causes.

Such donations and commitment to seek favorable political leadership are reasons to hope, said Meir Shlomo, consul general of Israel to the Southwest.

“We all know you have our back covered,” he said, prompting a prolonged standing ovation.

Thousands Of Christians March In Jerusalem In Support Of Israel

Understanding Christian Zionism By John Hagee

On Feb. 6, 2006, I invited 400 evangelical leaders to Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. I invited presidents of Christian universities, owners of radio/television networks, presidents and owners of publishing companies, major pastors and the prominent television personalities.

Our historic meeting had a one-item agenda: create a national grassroots Christian Zionist organization that would unite millions of evangelicals to stand up and speak up for Israel. For years, I had spoken at churches all over the country about the Biblical basis for Christian support of Israel. I knew that through their own Biblical studies, millions of Christians had come to understand that we have a religious and ethical obligation to stand with the Jewish people. My hope was that in creating this organization we could unite these individuals and speak with one thunderous voice in support of Israel.

Before the meeting, I confided in Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg – my friend of 30 years – that I was unsure if any of the pastors would agree to join this new organization. The first rule of the organization would be that we would go to Washington, D.C. annually to educate our people and to engage the members of Congress with our absolute solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people. We were a one-issue organization: Israel!

To my surprise, all 400 pastors agreed to join the effort, and Christians United For Israel was born. Though I viewed this moment as miraculous (if you disagree, try getting 400 pastors to agree on anything), I could not even dream of what CUFI would become.

Today, we have more than 1.1 million members; we hold an average of 40 pro-Israel events in cities and towns across America every month; we meet in Washington every year to remind our elected officials that there are Christians who stand with Israel. We have been welcomed with open arms by the American Jewish community and successive Israeli governments (regardless of party).

In spite of how dramatically the organization has grown and the extent to which we have been welcomed in mainstream American and Israeli political circles, there are many who do not understand the phenomenon. Why would Christians support the Jewish state?

To quote one of our CUFI On Campus student leaders, “I support Israel because I am a Christian.” Christian Zionists do not believe that God’s covenant with the Jewish people has been replaced by Christianity. Quite the contrary. We recognize that our faith would not exist were it not for Judaism. The first family of Christianity, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and all the disciples, were Jewish. Christianity owes a debt of gratitude to the Jewish faith, and we have been commanded to stand with our Jewish brethren. Yet for centuries some of the greatest atrocities against the Jewish people were committed by Christians, in the name of Christianity.

Genesis 12:3 explains that God will bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who curse her. Has this not come to pass? Israel is a prosperous nation - in spite of being surrounded by tyrannical enemies who wish her destruction. And the U.S., Israel’s primary ally? Have we not thrived as a nation since recognizing Israel’s independence minutes after it was declared? We have our ups and our downs, but on our worst day, we are still the envy of all the earth.

Christian support for Israel is the product of Christians reading their Bible and rightly concluding that it is a Zionist document. Upon this foundation has been built a modern understanding of Israel’s history, and recognition that Israelis and Americans share the same democratic values.

CUFI is the largest pro-Israel organization in the country and among the largest Christian grassroots movements in the U.S. Support for Israel is not just an issue for Christians; it is our primary foreign policy focus. When we set out to form CUFI we had a simple mantra: we will awaken the sleeping giant of Christian Zionism. Ask any member of Congress – it is wide awake.

Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, is the author of “The Power of the Prophetic Blessing.”

John Hagee in LA: Christian pastor with a Zionist message

It’s become a standard part of John Hagee’s stump speech, the story of how the evangelical pastor and founder of the 1.2 million-member Christians United For Israel (CUFI) first got started on the path of Israel advocacy.

It began with a trip to the Holy Land in 1978 — “I went to Israel as a tourist and came back a Zionist,” Hagee told the mostly Christian crowd of more than 1,000 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills on Aug. 26. And then grew into something bigger with the Israeli airstrike that destroyed the nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981.

“Israel has done the world a favor, and they should be complimented, not criticized,” Hagee said, recalling his reaction to the negative media coverage that followed the Israeli preemptive strike.

That was the inspiration for the first “Night to Honor Israel,” held in 1982 in Hagee’s hometown of San Antonio. He founded CUFI in 2006; today the rapidly growing organization stages about 40 “Night to Honor Israel” events every month in cities around the United States.

In some cases, the events amount to infusing a regular midweek religious service at a local church with a pro-Israel agenda. But at the Saban, CUFI staged its first “Night to Honor Israel” to take place in a non-church venue in Los Angeles, precisely at a time when Israel might be poised to, as Hagee would call it, do the world another favor.

Consul General of Israeli in Los Angeles David Siegel also spoke: “Iran today represents the genocidal hunter, they are on the prowl and they are calling for the destruction of my people, day in and day out,” Siegel told the crowd. “And after 20 years of trying to deal with this diplomatically, it is time to say, enough.”

Last month, Hagee told The Journal’s senior political editor Shmuel Rosner that he is not satisfied with the United States’ current regime of sanctions against Iran; from the audience’s applause, it appeared Hagee’s supporters in Los Angeles found his tougher stance — which is more closely aligned with that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s — more to their liking.

What the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) — a lobby singularly dedicated to supporting Israel — is to the American Jewish community, CUFI aims to be for American evangelicals. But while AIPAC pledges to support the policies of any Israeli government in power, regardless of party, and aims to ensure its support for Israel is as bipartisan as possible, it’s hard to make the same case about CUFI.

For one, Hagee’s vision of Israel’s boundaries does not envision a future Palestinian state.

“God is angry with every nation that does anything to divide the land of Israel; that includes the United States of America,” Hagee said, outlining a vision of Greater Israel counter to the policies of Israel and the United States.

The pastor’s position is even more uncompromising on the matter of Jerusalem.

“President Obama told the Jewish people in Jerusalem they could not build homes in East Jerusalem,” Hagee said. “The truth is, Barack Obama has absolutely no authority to tell the Jewish people what they can and cannot do.”

When the applause from the crowd died down, Hagee continued. “Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for the past 3,000 years. That’s before Barack Obama was a community organizer in Chicago.”

With anti-Obama flourishes like that — not to mention off-handed calls to defund the United Nations — it’s hardly surprising to find that Hagee has Republican fans.

“I was amazed and impressed,” Ron Plotkin, a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s board of directors, said as he left the Saban Theatre. “I had heard some great things about [Pastor Hagee]; he lived up to all the expectations.”

Having Jews in the audience at CUFI events is of the utmost importance to this organization, which has taken pains to try to reassure Jews that they do not seek to convert them to Christianity.

The members of CUFI, inspired by the passage in Genesis in which God tells Abraham “those who bless you will be blessed, those who curse you will be cursed,” appear genuinely to want to stand with Israel and the Jewish people.

To that end, CUFI has set up more than 100 campus chapters at colleges and universities across the country, in an effort to “level the playing field,” Randy Neal, CUFI’s western coordinator, said. All the money collected at Sunday’s event was directed to CUFI’s efforts to reach out to college students and impact the debate over Israel on American campuses.

“If they’re going to put a fake apartheid wall up on the quad, then we’re going to put a faux Western Wall up on the quad,” Neal said. “And instead of putting prayers on the wall, we’re going to put up signs that show the incredible contributions that Israel’s made to the international community.”

Neal mentioned Israeli contributions ranging from “agriculture, technology, communication, medical, environment, energy,” but his reference to the Western Wall is telling, as that location clearly holds pride of place, not just in the Jewish psyche, but for CUFI as well.

Hagee calls the Western Wall one of his favorite places in Israel, and one of the few videos shown at the event that featured views of Israel — it played near the middle of the evening, as ushers walked the aisles with silver plastic buckets in their hands ready to collect donation envelopes — made generous use of shots of the Western Wall.

As a Christian rock band on stage played the theme song from the film “Exodus” (“This land is mine / God gave this land to me”), the screen displayed Jewish men at the wall swaying and praying in prayer shawls. They lifted Sephardic Torahs and shook their lulavs.

The scenes at the wall were, as it turned out, the primary representation of contemporary Israel in the video. Most of the rest of its footage had been pieced together from black-and-white reels that appeared to be at least 50 years old, showing haggard-looking Jews kissing the earth and, immediately after, folk-dancing Israelis, moving at the slightly sped-up pace of old-style newsreels.

Roz Rothstein interviewed ICN Vice President Dina Leeds and Arabs for Israel founder Nonie Darwish about anti-Semitism in Egypt for the “Stand With Us” television program

Roz Rothstein interviewed ICN Vice President Dina Leeds and Arabs for Israel founder Nonie Darwish about anti-Semitism in Egypt for the “Stand With Us” television program that will air on JLTV today at 3:30 p.m.  It is a fascinating program filled with the remembrances and perspectives of these two insightful and articulate women, both of whom were born inEgypt and spent their early childhood years there. 

The stark contrast between their families’ experiences in Egypt make it even more remarkable that they share so many views about the Egyptian culture and what is going on there today.  Nonie grew up as a Muslim (she has converted to Christianity) and a child of privilege following the assassination in 1956 of her father, a leader of the Fedayeen movement assigned to Gaza to kill Jews in Israel. Dina’s family were Jews who had made Egypt their home for generations. Her family and all Egyptian Jews were ordered to leave the country following the 1967 war with Israel.  

Here's a speech by Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Mn) in which she demolishes the Obama administration for its support of the Muslim Brotherhood against Israel and the United States.

Pastor John Hagee CUFI '11 speech: "Save Israel & America from Obama"

Pastor Hagee debunks allegations of Jewish "occupation" of Palestine- articulating support for Zionistic activism- to protect Israel, the historic Jewish homeland from poltical Islamism - and Pres.Obama's agenda's to prematurely divide Israel to create a hostile Palestinian Muslim state.

Zulus and Christians rally for Israel - in South Africa

From AFP:

Several hundreds of people staged a protest march in Pretoria on Thursday against South Africa's plans to stick "Made in the Palestinian Territories" labels on goods from the area.

Around 300 members of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Inkatha Freedom party marched peacefully and handed over a petition against the labelling to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, ministry spokesman Sidwell Medupe told AFP.

South Africa's Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has argued that consumers must be informed of a product's origin, as is common practice in other parts of the world, including the European Union.

Reverend Kenneth Meshoe, leader of the ACDP argued however that "the South African government must not involve itself in the political agenda of organisations and anti-Israeli lobbies."

The government has issued a notice of intention to introduce "Made in Palestinian Territories" tags and will make a decision after a public consultation process that ends on July 10.

The proposed law for labeling only those Judea and Samaria goods made by Jewish companies is itself a model of how ignorant people are of history.

It includes this statement:

"The government of South Africa recognises the state of Israel only within the borders demarcated by the United Nations in 1948. Such demarcated borders of Israel by the UN do not include Palestinian territories occupied after 1967."

There were no borders demarcated by the United Nations in 1948.

The UN proposed a partition resolution where a Jewish State would exist alongside an Arab State in 1947, but that resolution was never implemented as it wasn't accepted by any Arab nation, who decided to destroy Israel instead. That resolution is not international law. Israel's legal basis is not UNGA 181 but the fact that Jewish nationalists survived and won a war waged against them meant to exterminate their presence in Palestine. (This is without going into the legal basis of the League of Nations' action in 1922 supporting a Jewish homeland in all of Palestine west of the Jordan, partitioning off eastern Palestine into the new entity called Transjordan for the Arabs.)

The lines that became what is incorrectly called "Israel's 1967 borders" were armistice lines that were agreed upon between Israel and the Arab nations, under UN oversight, in separate negotiations in 1948 and 1949.

In fact, UNSC 242 notes this by saying that there must be "secure and recognized borders" between Israel and the Arab world. 

So which "borders" are South Africa referring to?

Jerusalem Day on Capitol Hill featuring Allen West Here's video of the Jerusalem Day celebration on Capitol Hill, which took place on Wednesday (June 6). The featured speaker was Republican Congressman Allen West.

John Hagee exposes all on Aish HaTorah's Old City rooftop overlooking Temple Mount

 

From Mike Evans the founder of the Jerusalem Prayer Team

Untitled from Mike Evans on Vimeo.


Few people in the entire world have as clear a picture of the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program as my friend Prime Minister Netanyahu.  When I interviewed him, I asked him about the threat posed by the mullahs of Teheran.  He said, "This is not the Soviet Union.  This is not China.  These are not rational forces.  You can't count on the ayatollahs, armed with nuclear weapons, to back off. Their mad, apocalyptic vision would be perfectly possible for them to do."

Mr. Netanyahu also said, "They prefer their zeal over survival.  Have you ever heard of a Communist suicide bomber?  No.  But militant Islam produces battalions of them.  They smash into buildings in Manhattan, and they smash into the Pentagon; into warships and school and buses--you name it.  They are really after you, not after us.  We are just the frontal position of the West."

As Iran comes ever closer to completing its nuclear weapons program, the day when Israel and the rest of the world must deal with the awful reality draws near.  Yet, instead of doing anything effective about this grave threat, the world is focusing on Israel instead.  In some ways it's not surprising since in his Cairo speech, President Obama identified the Arab-Israeli conflict as second only to Al Qaeda as a threat to peace.  But it's ridiculous!  The Obama Administration and the UN are fully committed to creating a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Understand this clearly--every nation and individual that supports this plan to curse Israel and steal from her the land God promised the Jews as an eternal possession will suffer His chastisement and judgment.  Every nation and individual that opposes this plan and stands with Israel as a blessing to her will enjoy His blessing.  Your gift today to bless Israel is urgently needed.

America is on a prophetic countdown to the gravest days in our history.  In a few weeks, a vote will be taken at the United Nations that will force America to choose between standing with Israel and standing with her enemies.  Israeli leaders have  asked the Jerusalem Prayer Team for its support at the United Nations and a week later as the nations of the world gather for the demonic Durban III conference to continue accusing Zionists of being racists.  The first Durban Conference happened in 2001.  At that conference, the Palestinians distributed copies of the anti-Semitic "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" to all delegates.  It was the most evil, anti-Semitic UN assembly ever against Israel.

The conference ended on September 8, 2001...and 72 hours later, the US was attacked by Radical Islam. I can assure you that in the spirit realm, this was no coincidence. God's Word promises a curse on any nation that touches Jerusalem.  Once before, an American President attempted to divide Jerusalem and surrender the Temple Mount to radical Islam.  That president was Bill Clinton.  Now President Obama plans to do the same--this time by formally recognizing a Palestine State at the UN in September within days of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
 
I do not believe for a second that all the economic and political turmoil America is going through is coincidental.  America needs Divine intervention that can only come from God's people standing in the gap like Esther.  This national campaign will cost $350,000.  I am asking every Jerusalem Prayer Team member to stand up to Jew hatred like Corrie ten Boom and her family did in Holland during the Holocaust. 

In my new book, The Protocols, I reveal how so many of the modern expressions of anti-Semitism trace their roots back to "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion".  I wrote this thriller, "The Protocols", to expose the world to the fact that although it was uncovered as a forgery not long after it was written, millions of people today still accept it as truth...and act on that false belief.  My new book is a chilling look at how the tentacles of hatred of Jews reach even into our own country. 

Jimmy Draper, President Emeritus of Lifeway wrote, "To all readers of The Protocols by Mike Evans: You are in for an exciting journey as you move through the pages of this book. It is action-packed with solid theme that will keep you on the edge of your seats. Mike Evans has been given a great gift to write inspiring and compelling books that do so without the usual vulgarities and suggestive scenes that are present in so many books today. You will be blessed, entertained, and drawn again to the complicated turmoil and intrigue of the Middle East today."

Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, who girds Israel with might.
Your ambassador to Jerusalem,
Dr. Michael Evans

Christmas greetings from PM Binyomin Netanyahu

Pilgrims fill Jerusalem's streets A surge in the number of Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem is breathing new life into the holy city

Christian pilgrims are now so numerous in the Old City of Jerusalem that this ancient metropolis seems to becoming for Christians what Mecca is to Muslims. They are arriving in record numbers.

"October saw the greatest number of Christian tourists here for 30 years," said a hotel manager at Jaffa Gate. "Since the end of September we have been bursting at the seams. People have been waiting in queues for up to three hours in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to enter the Tomb of Christ."

One guide predicted that a total of a million and a half Christians will have crowded down the Old City's narrow dark alleys this year. A similar tourist buoyancy is seen all over Israel. Visitors to the state have risen 30% with a total of 3.2 million predicted for 2010.

In Jerusalem, Israel is seizing the business benefits and planning to boost numbers. It's a move that the churches are embracing with joy. However, whether many local Arab Christians will profit directly from the tourist cash is doubtful. Most of the olive wood crosses, effigies of the Virgin Mary, rosary beads and souvenirs in Christian Quarter Road are sold by Muslims. The 7,000 Arab Christians living within the crenellated walls are outnumbered by 25,000 Muslims.

Amidst the spires and minarets more than the call of the muezzin competes with the ringing of church bells. Muslims now make up 25% of the residents in the historic Christian Quarter, while the shops and offices are 90% Muslim. A similar imbalance is seen in the Christian schools run by the churches where around two-thirds of the students are Muslim.

Palestinian businessmen are hoping that the severe shortage of hotel rooms will result in new Arab hotels. One Muslim lawyer complained, "Since 1967 new licences have been granted solely to Jews in East Jerusalem. Existing Arab hotels, hospices and hostels have only been allowed to renovate, revamp and expand."

But not all are convinced that the increase in tourism is beneficial. Traffic on roads leading into Jerusalem is slowed down by huge tourist coaches; at certain times of the day on the Via Dolorosa it is impossible to walk, especially when large prayer groups pause to worship at each of the 14 Stations of the Cross; up to 30 coaches are parked some mornings on the Jericho Road near the Garden of Gethsemane.

"Surging crowds are sometimes so dense that Israel needs to introduce one-way streets for pedestrians," said Father George Kraj who runs the Christian Information Centre and Pilgrim Mass Booking Agency opposite the Tower of David.

However, as many Protestants point out to Catholics, there is nothing in the New Testament directing followers of Jesus to take pilgrimages. This contrasts with Islam and Judaism. The Qur'an states that it is a duty of the followers of Islam to make a hajj; the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy order Jewish males to make journeys annually to the Temple.

Father George rationalises that as Catholics follow both Scripture and tradition, Christians inherited the Jewish practice of pilgrimage. With passion he added, "We can all follow the example of Jesus's pilgrimage to Jerusalem!"

My suggestion that Christians should find salvation within themselves, not in places, brought a swift rebuttal. Pilgrimages, he argued, were only absent from the New Testament because, by the time that pen was put to papyrus, the Romans had destroyed Jerusalem: "Landmarks were flattened, Jews were banned from the city – and the early Christians were mostly Jews."

Whatever the perception of pilgrimage little has inhibited Christians from coming to Jerusalem. A few centuries after the Crusades, Geoffrey Chaucer showed the popularity of Jerusalem as a destination by describing the lusty Wife of Bath in his Canterbury Tales, travelling there no less than three times.

The Reformation, though, was fierce in its discouragement of pilgrimages. Nonconformists were exhorted to find the heavenly Jerusalem and not seek its rival, the earthly Jerusalem. Pilgrimages to shrines, along with penances, confession, rosaries and relics, are deeply rooted in what divided the churches after the Reformation. Paradoxically, it was not a Catholic, but a devout nonconformist, Thomas Cook, who started biblical package tours in the late 19th century. He enthusiastically brought the largest number of tourists – most with a bible in their hands and a prayer on their lips – to the Holy Land since the Crusades. Today, like Cook, many Evangelical tourists could be described as pilgrims but, dismissing the very concept, call themselves "religious tourists".

Apart from the present relative peace in the area, what is less clear is the cause of the sudden increase in religiously motivated tourism to the holy city. Most who are asked include the word "spiritual" in their answer. The more sceptical, though, partly attribute the increase to advertising and marketing.